14 Hours later

Hospital days are long, surgery days are almost intolerable. Those of you who have been or who have cared for a sick loved one can relate. Around 1.00pm this afternoon the surgeon told me the replacement had been a success. I waited a further 2 hours to see him; he was groggy but it was good to see him. They then asked me to wait an hour until he was transfered to his room. I waited for an hour. And then two. The third eeked by at snail pace and by the 4th I knew something was not right. They then called me back down to the post op ward. John was having trouble moving his legs; he had had an epidural but the nurse said it didn't normally take this long to gain range of motion. Suffice to say in the next 20 minutes John was lifting his knees (he's a crafty little bugger, it's like he heard the nurse say he couldn't do it and he thought "I'll show you") With that resolved we were left with 2 more issues. He has quite considerable pain at the incision site, again maybe nothing and he is runing a fever of 101. As with the first it could simply be his body adjusting. This was a big surgery and his body just got packed a whole lot of sedatives! So at 7.30pm I am back up in the family waiting room, my 10th (maybe more) cup of coffee in hand and hoping for the call any minute to go to his room and settle him in for the night. As I sit and write the verse comes to mind that talks about our battles not being flesh and blood but of spiritual darkness and light, the principalities above. I feel that in my mind. A part of me which says "despair and pity and worry" and yet another stronger part of me that says "trust, do not worry and have faith". I won't lie, I didn't have some long quiet time this morning, I haven't spend weeks fasting and seeking God for hours, I didn't "earn" this peace as I think sometimes we think we have too. The peace and warmth I feel from the Lord right now is a gift from Him to me; it is perfect Father giving his often faithless daughter the gift of trust. What a faithful father.